"Kate Elliott - Jaran 1 - Jaran" - читать интересную книгу автора (Elliott Kate)

Tess laughed. "That doesn't help. No, because our spoken tongue and written tongue
are the same, and a standard. Because we're too egalitarian. Because we're so young, as a
species, as a culture, compared to them."

"Because our physiological system is so inefficient, compared to theirs?'' Sojourner
waved toward the building behind them. "Just like our technology is primitive? I hate them."
She glanced around the waiting chamber. The walls, a muted orange in the fading daylight,
curved in at the top; their dullness diminished the thirty meters between the ends of the room.
The air smelled of heat and spices: cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. It was an alien room,
designed for the taste of Chapalii, not humans. "No. I don't hate them. They've proven neither
cruel nor harsh as our masters."

"Their grip is soft," said Tess in an undertone.

Sojourner gave her a sharp glance. "But it chafes," she replied, quieter still. "Tess, are
you sure you really want to go see your brother? Jacques isn't worth this. He was a spoiled,
pretty rich kid who wanted to get ahead without working for it. He's not worth your running
away—"

Tess winced. "I'm not running away. I finished my thesis. I've got obligations to Charles
now."

"What about your research? I know you don't want to follow in Charles's footsteps. Why
go now?"
 "Soje, leave be. " The force of her comment silenced both of them. "As if I could follow in
his footsteps anyway," Tess murmured finally.

Sojourner lifted up her hands in defeat. "Goddess, you're stubborn. Go. Be miserable.
Just remember I told you so. You've always hated Odys. You always say so, and that one
time I went there with you, I can't say as I blame you. Ugly planet."

"It wasn't before the Chapalii got through with it," said Tess so softly that Sojourner did
not hear her.

A chime rang through the room. A seam opened out of orange wall to reveal a
nondescript man in police blues. His shoulders shrugged in an exaggerated sigh when he
saw them.

"Office is closed," he said, obviously used to saying that phrase frequently. "And it's off
limits to humans at all times, except for the midday hour if you've got a dispensation." He
regarded them, measuring. What he saw, Tess could well imagine: two young women, only a
single valise between them, dressed without any particular style that might mark them out as
rich enough or important enough to rate a dispensation or otherwise be allowed entrance into
the private corridors of humanity's alien masters.

"If you'll allow me to escort you out," he said, firmly but kindly.

Sojourner looked at Tess expectantly. Tess felt frozen. Again it came down to this:
retreat with meek dignity, as any other human on Earth would have to, or use her brother's